HOMOSEXUALS GAIN MORE ACCEPTANCE

By MICHAEL R. KAGAY

Published: October 25, 1989

Public tolerance of homosexual relations between consenting adults has increased, returning to a level that existed in 1982 before public concern over the spread of AIDS caused a backlash against homosexuals, according to the latest Gallup Poll.

Forty-seven percent of the 1,227 people interviewed Oct. 12-15 said homosexual relations between consenting adults should be legal, while 36 percent said they should not be. The remainder had no opinion.

In the most recent previous poll, in 1987, only 33 percent said homosexua relations should be legal, while 55 percent said they should not.

The new national telephone poll had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.

While 45 percent of those polled in 1982 said homosexual relations between consenting adults should be legal, the public became more negative in polls in 1985, 1986 and 1987.

Larry Hugick, vice president of the Gallup Organization, offered this interpration: ''Tolerance of homosexuals fell when Americans first started worrying about getting AIDS. But as people's fear of getting AIDS themselves has diminished, tolerance of homosexuals has rebounded to previous levels.'' Equal Job Opportunities

Support has also grown for equal job opportunities for homosexuals, with 71 percent saying homosexuals should have ''equal rights in terms of job opportunities,'' up from 59 percent in 1982 and 56 percent in 1977, the only other years in which the question was asked.

But many people distinguish among occupations as appropriate for homosexuals. In the latest poll 79 percent said homosexuals would be appropriate in sales work, but only 60 percent expressed themselves that way regarding the military and 56 percent regarding doctors.

Only a minority said homosexuals were appropriate high school teachers (47 percent), members of the clergy (44 percent) and elementary school teachers (42 percent).

Such differences about employing homosexuals have persisted since Gallup began tracking the six occupations in 1977, but support for equal job opportunity for homosexuals has gradually increased since 1977 for all six.